Dark-Winged Orchis (Orchis ustulata)
At a glance
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −28.9 °C
Cultivation
Prefers a sunny position and a good limey loam soil. Orchids are, in general, shallow-rooting plants of well-drained low-fertility soils. Their symbiotic relationship with a fungus in the soil allows them to obtain sufficient nutrients and be able to compete successfully with other plants. They are very sensitive to the addition of fertilizers or fungicides since these can harm the symbiotic fungus and thus kill the orchid. Plants can succeed in a lawn in various parts of the country. The lawn should not be mown early in the year before or immediately after flowering. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. The flowers diffuse a powerful almond-like scent. Cultivated plants are very susceptible to the predation of slugs and snails.
Propagation
Seed - surface sow, preferably as soon as it is ripe, in the greenhouse and do not allow the compost to dry out. The seed of this species is extremely simple, it has a minute embryo surrounded by a single layer of protective cells. It contains very little food reserves and depends upon a symbiotic relationship with a species of soil-dwelling fungus. The fungal hyphae invade the seed and enter the cells of the embryo. The orchid soon begins to digest the fungal tissue and this acts as a food supply for the plant until it is able to obtain nutrients from decaying material in the soil. It is best to use some of the soil that is growing around established plants in order to introduce the fungus, or to sow the seed around a plant of the same species and allow the seedlings to grow on until they are large enough to move. Division of the tubers as the flowers fade. Division can also be carried out when the plant has a fully developed rosette of leaves but before it comes into flower.
Edible uses
Root - cooked.
Medicinal uses
Salep (see above for more details) is very nutritive and demulcent.
Habitat
Chalk downs and limestone pastures.
Native range
Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Caucasus and Siberia.
Scientific synonyms Neotinea ustulata